5144.4(a)
STUDENTS
Welfare
Behavior Management
Purpose
The school board enacts this policy to ensure that district staff use appropriate behavior management techniques and that, for each disabled or thought to be disabled student who exhibits behavior problems which interfere with the student’s ability to learn, the IEP team develops a plan that provides for an appropriate program of behavior management. The purpose of this policy and its implementing guidelines is to ensure adherence by all staff to the requirements of state and federal law as they exist at the time of the adoption of this policy and its implementing guidelines and as they may from time to time be amended and interpreted by the courts and various administrative agencies.
The school board intends that the application of behavior management rules and procedures be applied to students with disabilities in a nondiscriminatory manner and in full compliance with the requirements of state and federal law. The school board intends with this policy neither to confer upon students and their parents or guardians any greater right that they enjoy under state and federal law nor to impose upon the district any greater limitations or duties that are imposed by state and federal law. Nothing in this policy should be construed in a manner inconsistent with intent. To the extent that any portion of this policy or the implementing guidelines is inconsistent with such laws as they now or shall hereafter exist, such portion shall be deemed null and void without prejudice to the unaffected provisions.
Philosophy/Rationale
A. The North Penn School District recognizes that appropriate learning outcomes take place in an appropriately managed classroom. When the behavior of a student with disabilities interferes with learning, a functional behavior assessment will be done and an appropriate management plan will be implemented. Consistent with this policy and federal and state law, all students with disabilities shall comply with the school board approved discipline policy.
B. Behavior management programs include a variety of techniques to develop and maintain skills that will enhance an individual student’s opportunity for learning and self-fulfillment.
Potential causes of behavior problems such as physical or medical conditions, environmental factors, staffing and program concerns shall be reviewed and addressed prior to development of a behavior management program.
C. Positive rather than negative measures shall form the basis of behavior management programs. Positive techniques for the development, change, and maintenance of selected behaviors shall be attempted prior to the use of more intrusive or restraining measures.
The types of intervention chosen for a particular student shall be the least intrusive necessary and shall be in accordance with state and federal law. Adverse techniques, restraints or disciplinary procedures may not be used as a substitute for a behavior management program. continued
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5144.4(b)
D. Restraints to control acute or episodic aggressive behavior may be used only when a student is acting in a manner as to be a clear and present danger to himself, to other students or to employees, and only when less restrictive measures and techniques have proved to be or are less effective. The use of restraints to control the aggressive behavior of an individual student shall cause a meeting of the IEP to review the current IEP for appropriateness and effectiveness. The use of restraints may not be included in the IEP, employed as punishment, for the convience of staff or as a substitute for an educational program. The use of restraints for the convenience of staff, as a substitute for an educational program, or employed as punishment may not be included in the IEP.
E. Mechanical restraints, which are used to control involuntary movement or lack of muscular control of students when due to organic causes or conditions, may be employed only when specified by an IEP and as determined by a medical professional qualified to make the determination, and as agreed to by the student’s parents. Mechanical restraints shall prevent a student from injuring himself or others or promote normative body positioning and physical functioning.
F. The following aversive techniques of handling behavior are considered inappropriate and
may not be used by agencies in educational programs:
a) Corporal punishment
b)
Punishment for a manifestation of a student’s disability
c) Locked rooms, locked boxes, or other locked structures or spaces from which the
student cannot readily exit
d) Noxious substances
e) Deprivation of basic human rights, such as withholding meals, water, or
fresh air
f) Suspension constituting a pattern under 22 PA Code 14.143(a)
g) Treatment of a demeaning nature
h) Electric shock
G. North Penn School District has the responsibility for ensuring that behavior support programs are in accordance with 22 PA Code Chapter 14, including the training of personnel, for the use of specific procedures, methods, and techniques.
H. North Penn School District must obtain parental consent prior to the use of highly restraining or intrusive procedures
Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this policy or in its implementing guidelines, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Aversive Techniques – deliberate activities designed to establish a negative association with specific behavior.
Behavior Management – the development, change and maintenance of selected behaviors through the systematic application of behavior change techniques.
Focused Intervention Planning – a plan addressing a disabled student’s behavioral needs and interventions within an IEP.
Functional Behavioral Assessment – an assessment of a student, the purpose of which shall be to determine the environmental, behavioral, or circumstantial factors that precede or accompany the behavior for which discipline is imposed and the effectiveness of the interventions undertaken to address, or the reactions to, the behavior. continued
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5144.4(c)
Positive Techniques – methods which utilize positive reinforcement to shape a student’s behavior, ranging from the use of positive verbal statements as a reward for good behavior to specific tangible rewards.
Restraints – devices and techniques designed and used to control acute or episodic aggressive behaviors or to control involuntary movements or lack of muscular control due to organic causes or conditions. The term includes physical and mechanical restraints.*
* Devices that are designed as postural restraints include:

Rifton chairs (may include seat belts and/or chest straps)

K-Chairs

Ther-adapt chairs (may include seat belts and/or chest straps)

Prone Stander

Free Stander

Adapted toilet seat and seat belt if needed

Hoyer lift

Bike with chest and hip belts if needed

Car seat with harness as needed

Wheel chair with seat belts
Students with Disabilities – shall mean a student who is eligible for special education under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Act and its implementing regulation, Chapter
14 of the regulations of the State Board of Education. For the purposes of this policy and its implementing guidelines, the definition of disabled students include students whom the District suspects or has reason to suspect are students with disabilities and to students who are in the process of a multidisciplinary team evaluation at the time of the incident for which discipline is imposed. This policy and its implementing guidelines shall also apply to “protected handicapped students” within the meaning of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its implementing regulation and Chapter 15 of the regulations of the State Board of
Education. As applied to such students, references to IEPs and to IEP teams shall be construed as references to service agreements and to teams of appropriate school staff and parents or guardians that develop and revise service agreements.
Prior to the development of a behavior management plan, an appropriate functional behavior assessment of the student will be completed.
The school board authorizes the superintendent to develop guidelines for the implementation of this policy.
Policy:
Adopted: May 17, 2001
Amended: June 22, 2006
Reviewed: November 15, 2007
Reviewed: July 16, 2015
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